Freedom of Information Act 1982

PART V - AMENDMENT AND ANNOTATION OF PERSONAL RECORDS  

SECTION 51C   Transfer of requests  

51C(1)    
Where an application is made under section 48 to an agency or a Minister and:

(a) the document containing the record of personal information to which the request relates is not in the possession of that agency or Minister, but is, to the knowledge of the agency or Minister, in the possession of another agency or Minister; or

(b) the subject matter of that document is more closely connected with the functions of another agency or Minister than with those of the agency or Minister to whom the application is made;

the agency or Minister to whom the application is made may, with the agreement of the other agency or Minister, transfer the application to the other agency or Minister.

51C(2)    

Where an application is made under section 48 to an agency or Minister and the document containing the record of personal information to which the application relates:

(a) originated with, or has been received from, a body or person specified in Part I of Schedule 2; and

(b) is more closely connected with the functions of that body or person than with those of the agency or Minister to whom the application is made;

the agency or Minister to whom the application is made must transfer the application:

(c) to the Department corresponding to the Department of State administered by the Minister who administers the enactment by or under which the body or person is established, continued in existence or appointed; or

(d) if the application relates to a document that originated with, or has been received from, a part of the Department of Defence specified in Division 2 of Part I of Schedule 2 - to that Department.

51C(3)    
Where an application is made under section 48 to an agency or a Minister and the document containing the record of personal information to which the application relates:

(a) originated in, or has been received from, another agency, being an agency specified in Part II of Schedule 2 or an agency that is a body corporate established by or under an Act specified in Part III of Schedule 2; and

(b) is more closely connected with the functions of the other agency in relation to documents in respect of which the other agency is exempt from the operation of this Act than with the functions of the agency or Minister to whom the application is made;

the agency or Minister to whom the application is made must transfer the application to the other agency.

51C(4)    
Where:

(a) an application made under section 48 to an agency or a Minister concerns records of personal information contained in more than one document; and

(b) one or more of those documents is a document to which subsection (1), (2) or (3) applies;

this section applies to each of those documents as if separate applications had been made to the agency or Minister in respect of records of personal information contained in each of those documents.

51C(5)    
Where an application is transferred to an agency or Minister under this section, the agency or Minister making the transfer must:

(a) inform the person making the application of the transfer; and

(b) if it is necessary to do so in order to enable the other agency or Minister to deal with the application, send the document concerned to the other agency or Minister.

51C(6)    
Where an application is transferred to an agency or a Minister under this section, the application is to be taken to be an application:

(a) made to that agency or Minister under section 48 ; and

(b) received by the agency or Minister at the time at which it was first received by an agency or Minister.

51C(7)    
Where:

(a) an application has been transferred to an agency or Minister in accordance with this section; and

(b) the agency or Minister to whom the application has been transferred decides to amend or annotate, under this Part, a record of personal information to which the application relates;

the agency or Minister must, by written notice, notify the agency or Minister who made the transfer:

(c) of that decision; and

(d) of any amendment or annotation made by the first-mentioned agency or Minister in relation to that record.

51C(8)    
Where the agency or Minister receiving a notice under subsection (7) is in possession of a document containing the record of personal information to which the application relates, the agency or Minister must, upon receiving the notice, amend or annotate the record in the same manner as the record was amended or annotated by the agency or Minister to whom the application was transferred.